Genesis 15:7-18

English Standard Version

⁷And he said to him, “I am the Lord who ^(A)brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans ^(B)to give you this land to possess.” ⁸But he said, “O Lord God, ^(C)how am I to know that I shall possess it?” ⁹He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰And he brought him all these, ^(D)cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But ^(E)he did not cut the birds in half. ¹¹And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹²As the sun was going down, a ^(F)deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain ^(G)that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and ^(H)they will be afflicted for ^(I)four hundred years. ¹⁴But ^(J)I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward ^(K)they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; ^(L)you shall be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for ^(M)the iniquity of the Amorites ^(N)is not yet complete.”

¹⁷When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. ¹⁸On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ^(O)“To your offspring I give^[a] this land, from ^(P)the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

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Footnotes

Genesis 15:18 Or have given

Genesis 15:7-18

New International Version

⁷He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out^(A) of Ur of the Chaldeans^(B) to give you this land to take possession of it.”^(C)

⁸But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,^(D) how can I know^(E) that I will gain possession of it?”^(F)

⁹So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer,^(G) a goat and a ram, each three years old,^(H) along with a dove and a young pigeon.^(I)”

¹⁰Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other;^(J) the birds, however, he did not cut in half.^(K) ¹¹Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses,^(L) but Abram drove them away.

¹²As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep,^(M) and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years^(N) your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved^(O) and mistreated there. ¹⁴But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out^(P) with great possessions.^(Q) ¹⁵You, however, will go to your ancestors^(R) in peace and be buried at a good old age.^(S) ¹⁶In the fourth generation^(T) your descendants will come back here,^(U) for the sin of the Amorites^(V) has not yet reached its full measure.”

¹⁷When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch^(W) appeared and passed between the pieces.^(X) ¹⁸On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram^(Y) and said, “To your descendants I give this land,^(Z) from the Wadi^[a] of Egypt^(AA) to the great river, the Euphrates^(AB)—